Sending a “selfie” to the doctor could be a cheap and simple way of detecting heart disease, according to the authors of a new study. The study is the first to show that it’s possible to use a deep learning computer algorithm to detect coronary artery disease (CAD) by analysing four photographs of a person’s face. Although the algorithm needs to be developed further and tested in larger…
Smoking is strongly linked to lower use of cancer screening services by women, and more advanced disease once cancer is diagnosed, new research reveals. Tobacco use is falling in many parts of the world, but it’s falling less rapidly among women than it is among men. And lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death among women, say the researchers. The evidence also suggests that women…
Researchers at the University of Notre Dame are developing a new technique using artificial intelligence (AI) that would improve CT screening to more quickly identify patients with the coronavirus. The new technique will reduce the burden on the radiologists tasked with screening each image. Testing challenges have led to an influx of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 requiring CT scans which…
A ‘pill on a string’ test can identify ten times more people with Barrett’s oesophagus than the usual GP route, a new study shows. The test, which can be carried out by a nurse in a GP surgery, is also better at picking up abnormal cells and potentially early-stage cancer. Barrett’s oesophagus is a condition that can lead to oesophageal cancer in a small number of people. It’s usually…
Researchers have developed the first blood test that can accurately detect more than 50 types of cancer and identify in which tissue the cancer originated, often before there are any clinical signs or symptoms of the disease. In a paper published in the leading cancer journal Annals of Oncology, the researchers show that the test, which could eventually be used in national cancer screening…
Scientists from the project SOLUS (Smart optical and ultrasound diagnostics of breast cancer) under the EU funding framework programme Horizon2020 have developed a non-invasive, multi-modal, imaging system that uses ultrasound and light technologies to easily differentiate between benign or malignant lesions – without having to perform a biopsy. Similar to a pregnancy ultrasound appointment, a…
In a study of more than 1,000 patients published in Radiology, chest CT outperformed lab testing in the diagnosis of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Researchers at Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, China, concluded that CT should be used as the primary screening tool for COVID-19. In the absence of specific therapeutic drugs or vaccines for COVID-19, it is essential to detect the disease at an…
The publication of the results of the Dutch-Belgian lung cancer screening trial (NELSON) supports recent calls to introduce lung cancer screening programmes throughout Europe. In light of the scientific evidence, lung cancer screening should be firmly embedded in any initiative launched by the European Commission and the Member States in the fight against cancer. As the leading cause of death…
The need to consider a formal recommendation on early screening for lung cancer was acknowledged by the Cross Party Group for Cancer, held at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh in January. Attended by over 40 people representing patients, the medical community, and the pharmaceutical industry as well as political advisers and Members of the Scottish Parliament, the Group agreed to write to the…
A computer algorithm has been shown to be as effective as human radiologists in spotting breast cancer from x-ray images. The international team behind the study, which includes researchers from Google Health, DeepMind, Imperial College London, the NHS and Northwestern University in the US, designed and trained an artificial intelligence (AI) model on mammography images from almost 29,000 women.…
Each year almost 80,000 new patients in France alone receive fluoropyrimidines, a group of anti-cancer drugs including 5-FU which is normally administered intravenously to treat digestive, breast and head and neck cancer. However, fluoropyrimidines-based chemotherapies can cause severe toxicities (incidence at around 20%) and sometimes lethal toxicity (incidence between 0.1 and 1%) with part of…
Although breast cancer (BC) mammography screening enables early detection of breast cancer, mammography presents issues such as variability between the radiology readings and shortage of radiologists. This area of medical imaging is where artificial intelligence (AI) could help make the biggest difference and improve patient outcome.
Breast cancer screening is a well-designed and scientifically proven, evidence-based procedure, but has pitfalls such as under-detection and over-diagnosis. Surgery or radiotherapy may have serious consequences on health and must therefore be administered in carefully selected patients. Research is ongoing as to how screening can help differentiate between the cancers that deserve treatment from…
For lung cancer patients, life expectancy has hardly improved since 1970. A ten-year survival is 5%, making this the leading cause of death among all cancers. One reason is that, in most cases, the disease is diagnosed far too late. Professor Mathias Prokop is among leading advocates of low-dose CT screening for lung cancer for high risk patients.
The British Medical Journal (BMJ) published a new recommendation on colorectal cancer screening on October 2nd, 2019. The main point: Screening participation is only recommended to people with at least a three percent chance of developing colorectal cancer in the next 15 years. As a result, the majority of women would be advised not to participate in screening – even though its benefit to them…
Investigators from the Biomedical Research Institute of Malaga [(IBIMA)-CIMES-UMA, Malaga Spain] and collaborators have published the first pilot study to examine the use of a non-invasive liquid biopsy in early diagnosis of breast cancer. This study was unique in that the ctDNA analyses was performed before any invasive diagnostic procedure or treatment. To achieve their goal, the researchers…
A new study, presented as ‘Late Breaking Science’ at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) annual congress, highlights the feasible use of mobile health (mHealth) devices to help with the screening and detection of atrial fibrillation (AF), a common heart condition. AF causes an irregular and sometimes, abnormally fast heart rate. The heart’s upper chambers (atria) contract randomly and…
The key challenges and opportunities surrounding High-Content Screening have been outlined in a presentation to leading scientists and technologists at a major lab conference. Speaking at the recent SLASEurope 2019 event in Barcelona, Professor Matthias Nees from the Institute of Biomedicine in the Department of Biology at the University of Turku, Finland, outlined the potential of High-Content…
Acoustic Mist Ionization Mass Spectrometry (AMI-MS) has played a pivotal role in the evolution of high-throughput screening (HTS) and now steps are being taken to advance this field to other potential applications. AstraZeneca has been an important player in this area, having already run more than 10 full collection HTS campaigns against a range of enzyme target types, and the company is now…
Nurses’ knowledge of cancer and screening processes varies significantly across the globe – potentially resulting in unnecessary deaths where knowledge falls short – new research reports. In the first study of its kind, which was now published in the European Journal of Oncology Nursing, researchers from the University of Surrey investigated nurses’ awareness of cancer warning signs,…
About one in ten people in southern India is diabetic. Around one in three suffers from a so-called diabetic retinopathy (DR), a disease of the retina caused by diabetes. Untreated, DR is often the cause of visual impairment and blindness. However, many of those affected have symptoms only in the late stages of the disease. Early detection is therefore all the more important in order to intervene…
A review of evidence by researchers at King’s College London has found high levels of alcohol dependence among hospital inpatients. The researchers estimate one in five patients in the UK hospital system uses alcohol harmfully, and one in ten is alcohol dependent. Currently little is being done to screen routinely for alcohol dependence in hospitals, and services for patients with alcohol…
The majority of women who undergo surgery for suspected ovarian cancer do not have cancer. A novel blood test developed by researchers at Uppsala University and the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, now offers the possibility of more precise diagnostics without the need for surgery. This could lead to a reduction in unnecessary surgery and to earlier detection and treatment for…
Is computed tomography suitable for detecting lung cancer at a very early stage and thus still well treatable? Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center have investigated this with the LUSI study started in 2007. The results of the study, which is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the Dietmar Hopp Foundation, are now available.
Engineers have developed a prototype endoscope which they say could cut the cost of manufacture from £80,000 to just £40. The redesigned device has the potential to revolutionise cancer screening in low-to-middle income countries where the cost of equipment makes screening prohibitively expensive. The endoscope is designed to see inside the upper part of the digestive tract for signs of…